Week 94 - The Miracle of a Cause (Lift Where You Stand)

Dearest friends and family,

Miracle #4: My mission and Ecuador have taught me to lift everywhere I stand. And have endeavored to do that and, in the process, also learned to accept being lifted by others.

I really like Quito. I lived there for 6 months and there are lots of Church members and converts there who made a huge impact on my mission and my life. I’m familiar with the weather there, the food, I know the bus system, and I can navigate to and from key mission locations. Everything about Quito feels normal and right. We had awesome trainings on Tuesday at the monthly mission council and I was so happy to be back in Quito.

After our council meetings, we went to visit a special family, the Campo’s, who we taught, baptized and brought back to Church in February. The message we shared and visiting with them was great and brought back many fond memories of great discussions and evenings in their home. After teaching, we purchased 2 Vecinos Pizzas (only $13.50!) and headed back to the house. The major surprise of the trip was when Elder Castagno arrived at the luz apartment with his trainee companion. The dates of the mission council overlapped with the 1^st verifications of trainees. It was so great catching up on the last 2 months of mission life. It is amazing knowing that we are both doing so well.

Being in Quito helped me remember and focus on the 4^th miracle of my mission: understanding the need to lift wherever I stand. Looking around during the council meeting, I realized that there were many new mission leaders. In the same way, there are many of us older mission leaders dispersed all around the mission lifting: some are district leaders, others are training. It was especially emotional listening to the last testimony of Elder George (who goes home in 2 weeks). I sat there pondering how we are all in this together. We all have the same goal, we all belong to this larger something that is much bigger than any one of us alone. We are all standing in different places, but each of us needs to lift.

Talking to Elder Castagno later that evening only drove the point home further. It brought me such joy hearing about his efforts to lift in Cotocachi. He and his companion are doing well and have people ready for baptism, as do we. We talked about how little time we have left, how we’re helping other missionaries, about the successes and adventures we’ve enjoyed, about the successes and adventures that lie ahead, about the blessings of God and the mysteries of life. Essentially we talked about how amazing the mission has been to us. It was an incredible trip!

I declare that great joy is found in belonging to and working toward something that is so much larger than any one of us. Look for and find a cause! Participate in it and love it! And don’t forget about the important contributions to the causes you are already a part of (namely lifting, supporting and building up family). I pray that we can all glory in lifting wherever we stand. Lift, with all of you might. And always lift with love.

EE